


Lightning Shrike

by willow_larkspur



Series: Gwen's Competition Fics [144]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shifters, Autistic Harry Potter, Because of Canon & Logic, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Desi Harry Potter, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Genius Harry Potter, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Introspection, Not Dursley friendly, Not Hagrid Friendly, Referenced racism, referenced eugenics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24099745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willow_larkspur/pseuds/willow_larkspur
Summary: Harini knew something was off about this whole magical situation. She just didn't know what.
Series: Gwen's Competition Fics [144]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250309
Comments: 2
Kudos: 100
Collections: MC4A Year 3





	Lightning Shrike

**Author's Note:**

> Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I’m just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn’t going to get you anything but tears.  
> Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. References to canon child abuse, including casting spells on a child as a misdirected punishment. There's also referenced xenophobic & racist ideology. Feel free to back out if need be.  
> Author’s Note: I know that Hagrid is a fandom favorite, but honestly, as an abuse survivor, his temper (and particularly how it displayed in PS) has always terrified me. I'm sorry if you dislike how he is portrayed here but I really can't control what canon gives me to work with. Also, Marge Dursley fails as a human being on so many levels and she doesn't even appear in this fic.

(^^)

**Lightning Shrike**

(^^)

Harini watched as Hagrid disappeared into the crowd. Watching him leave her for the second time that day, she couldn't help but think how odd it was that Hogwarts had sent him to introduce her to the magical world. He was not a professor for the school nor did it seem that he was particularly sensible about things. His temper was even worse than Uncle Vernon's and that was saying something as her uncle was extremely temperamental.

She hoped the spell Hagrid had cast on Dudley faded without any lasting harm, for both Dudley and Hagrid's sakes. It was highly unlikely that there weren't laws about casting spells on Muggles, no matter how annoying their fathers were. That was before even considering how Hagrid apparently wasn't supposed to be casting spells in the first place.

She sighed as she realized that she was officially left to find her own way home.

At least she had been able to talk Hagrid out of getting her a pet of any sort. Not only did that mean she wasn't drawing any kind of attention from the bustling crowd filling King's Cross, but it also meant that she wouldn't have to worry about how her relatives would react to her bringing home an animal.

The Dursleys weren't particularly happy that Harini needed to eat. She couldn't imagine how they would feel about having another unwanted mouth to feed. She wouldn't put it past her aunt to make Harini split her rations with a pet.

The other thing she was thankful for was how she had convinced Hagrid to get her an upgrade to her trunk instead of the proposed owl. The shrunken trunk was now tucked into the pocket of her ill-fitting dress along with her wand and coin bag. She knew from experience that anything in the pockets of her clothing would go wherever her clothing and glasses did when she shifted.

Giving into temptation, she shifted to her animal form right there in the middle of the busy train station. Used to such things, no one blinked an eye at the sudden appearance of a small bird that flew upwards immediately.

Harini circled the glass ceiling twice just to relish in the feeling of flight. Between her chores and how often she was locked in her cupboard, she didn't often get a chance to enjoy the perks of her shift. Aunt Petunia made sure to take Dudley to the local dog park at least once a week to show off their very proper English Bulldog shifts to the other denizens of Little Whinging. Yet if any of the neighbors asked about Harini's form, Aunt Petunia would always lie and make it sound like Harini hadn't managed to shift at all yet. All because shrikes were more common among the Irish and Welsh, and therefore having that form when they lived in Surrey was shameful.

Well, even more shameful than just having Harini in the family at all. She got the feeling that her darker skin due to her mixed heritage was also something shameful, even if none of her relatives would ever say it plainly. Sometimes, when she was deep enough in her cups, Aunt Marge would say a few things about drowning mongrel pups, but Aunt Petunia would frown at her with just as much disapproval as she always showed Harini before suggesting that she should retire for the evening.

Finally, Harini dived down and ducked out one of the many doors in order to leave the station. Carefully, she backtracked their path to the Leaky Cauldron. Now that she didn't have to worry about upsetting an escort, she wanted to explore the bit of the new world she had just joined--rejoined, actually, if what Hagrid had said was true. She was certain that she could probably find a book or something which explained more about the whole Voldemort situation and how her parents had died.

Maybe she would even find something that explained about laws or any cultural norms. Did wizards even have anything similar to sociology or anthropology?

If she got really lucky, she would be able to exchange some of her gold coins for muggle money and could maybe get some food to hide away in her new trunk.

Amid the late afternoon sunshine, Harini felt something begin to warm within her.

It felt a lot like hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Submitting Info:  
> Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
> Individual Challenges: Magical MC; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Feathers & ; In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon  
> House: Slytherin  
> Assignment No.: Term 12 – Assignment 9  
> Subject (Task No.): n/a  
> Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [809](No Dialogue); 365 [238](Particular); Geek Pride [Transformers] (Change in Appearance); Well Behaved Women [Fem Harry Potter] [Shifter AU] (Intelligence)  
> Other MC4A Challenges: Sp Bingo [5B](Sunshine); Tr Bingo [2E](The Hero's Journey); Chim [Doug]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)  
> Representation(s): Desi fem Harry Potter; Genius Harry Potter  
> Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Unwanted Advice; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Nontraditional); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots)  
> Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Intercept)  
> Word Count: 730


End file.
